CHARGERS DRAFT KIND OF DEFENDER THEY HATE FACING

Once Melvin Ingram had turned in a head-turning, hip-turning, direction-changing, kick-in-the-backside workout at the NFL Scouting Combine in February and then an altogether mind-bending demonstration of athleticism at his Pro Day a month later, it was long past time to move on.

And so I turned my full attention at that point to something much more likely — my stage adaptation of the Will Ferrell classic, “Elf,” in which LaDainian Tomlinson stars as Buddy and A.J. Smith plays Papa Elf.

“It was phenomenal,” Raye said. Then he raised his hands, as if in church, and repeated, “The workout was phenomenal.”

It’s not entirely accurate that Ingram was not part of the Chargers’ “cluster” going into the draft, but he was at best a satellite member. When Director of College Scouting John Spanos suggested early Thursday that Ingram could fall to them, he was practically ridiculed.

There are people around the league who think the Chargers got the most talented non-quarterback in the draft. It just so happened that many of the teams drafting ahead of them had different positions of need. There were four trades made in front of the Chargers on Thursday night, as those teams had specific targets in mind. Three quarterbacks, a safety and three cornerbacks were selected prior to the Chargers getting their turn.

And when the Seahawks shocked everyone by taking West Virginia defensive end Bruce Irvin at No. 15 and the Jets took North Carolina defensive end Quinton Coples at No. 16, suddenly Spanos looked prescient, as the Bengals were in the market for a cornerback.

Other teams desiring a different flavor, of course, is not the only reason the Chargers got him. If SuperMelvin could leap tall buildings in a single bound, someone would have taken him earlier.

The kid started just 13 games at South Carolina, having missed the 2008 season due to a broken foot and starting just once apiece in ’09 and ’10.

He played all over the defensive front, earning the dreaded assessment: jack of all trades, master of none.

Why this is a negative, I guess I understand, as it’s difficult for NFL types to project certain things when they haven’t seen him enough at certain spots. But, gosh, doesn’t it seem like a guy who has shown the ability to get to the quarterback from several positions in multiple packages might be a nice weapon to have?

“He fits on our team,” Norv Turner said.

“I always define myself as a football player,” said the 6-foot-2, 262-pound Ingram, who in a game against Georgia last year scored on a 68-yard run off a fake punt and a five-yard fumble return and recovered an onside kick to seal the victory. “I feel I can play any position on the football field because I’m going to work that much harder to be dominant at the position. Not being cocky, just being confident in myself.”